Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 10:42 AM

Dozier is a very agile and athletic string bean from Memphis. I don’t know whether he has hired an agent. He is *raw* and may (should) go back to school. Luc Louves may be more or less the same, except from France instead of Memphis.

None of the other guys are even in the DraftExpress prospect database.

Btw, there’s a new mock draft at DraftExpress — now they say we’re picking Darrell Arthur and Trent Plaisted. ??? I don’t see either of those picks at all.

Comment from Reuben
Time June 12, 2008 at 11:37 AM

That mock draft is BAD there is no way Hibbert will drop all the way to 25. Hopefully he will not be picked anywhere but number 18

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 12, 2008 at 11:39 AM

Just got back from workouts. A few comments on what I saw…

Dozier – He had the easiest time of anybody going through the tip the basket and dunk that we’ve had so far. Didn’t even bring the ball down and had no problem throwing it down. Very athletic. However he made it sound like he’s going back to school, he’ll announce on Sunday.

Osby – A beast. His arms are huge, and after Harris did the tip drill and couldnt finish Osby picked him up so he could dunk one. Pretty funny.

Spoke with Osby and Byerson – This was the first workout for both and they both really enjoyed it.

Louves – Had a left hamstring strain before we arrived and we never saw him as he went to the locker room early in the workout.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 11:47 AM

Dozier is listed at 6′10″ 200 lbs. I’m surprised he can stay down on the ground at all!

Hope he does go back to school; he could be a high pick next year depending on how he develops.

Comment from rgz
Time June 12, 2008 at 11:49 AM

Over the last few days, who among the Wizards (assistant) coaching staff have been attending and conducting the drills? I saw Hopla in the first few videos, who else has been around? Just curious as I think these guys don’t have contracts yet aside from Ayers.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:02 PM

every assistant coach has been there.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:03 PM

So… who we gonna pick? I have to say that I have *no idea at all!* I feel less settled about this than I did 2 weeks ago. Both about whom I think we *should* pick, and whom I think we are likely to pick:

Round 1: Speights or Hibbert
Round 2: George Hill or Lester Hudson

There are a lot of assumptions in the above — especially, I assume that Chalmers will be gone by our pick 47, and so will Richard Hendrix and Joey Dorsey. And, I assume we’re looking for a backup point guard somewhere in this draft. Otherwise, I like Pat Calathes in Round 2.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:05 PM

I would say there is definitely a bias when talking to this group about Hibbert .

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:07 PM

Tom because the odds are with me I’ll say none of the above.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:09 PM

Just looking at the videos — Dozier is a very good athlete!

Comment from popcornkid
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:14 PM

I think the Wizards should look to pick up Monta Ellis…

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:25 PM

Oh I forgot to tell everyone. Guess who popped his head in today at the workout?

Comment from Big Dogg
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:26 PM

I wonder why none of the people who create the mock drafts see Patrick Ewing Jr. as a 2nd round prospect. Maybe i’m being biased because i’m a Hoyas fan but he can bring energy, rebounding, defense, passing, and the ability to hit the open jumper to any teams bench. If the Wiz can get him in the 2nd round i see that as a steal. The Wizards should bring him in for a workout. He could battle D-Mac for a roster spot.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:31 PM

Gil, of course!

Comment from popcornkid
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:42 PM

Etan?

Comment from Reuben
Time June 12, 2008 at 12:48 PM

The only player from this group that I would want the Wizards to draft would be Dozier. He did the back tap the best by far and was definitely the best overall.

I might be able to go to the draft which would be really cool!

Comment from dmac
Time June 12, 2008 at 1:06 PM

I REMEMBER LAST YEAR MOSTLY EVERYONE WAS HOPING WE WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO DRAFT HIBBERT.
SOMEBODY TELL ME OUTSIDE OF A BETTER PLAYER AVAILABLE WHY THE WIZ SHOULD NOT DRAFT HIBBERT TO TEAM WITH HAYWOOD?

IS THEIR ANY HOPE FOR THE LOCAL GUY?

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 12, 2008 at 1:57 PM

you got it Tom!

I think people are worried with the improvement that Hibbert had from last year. You might not believe this, but the Front Offices take the best player not necessarily the best local player . Hibbert might be the pick but that’s because they’ll feel he’s the best player.

Reuben I doubt any of the guys that were hear will get drafted outside of Dozier. However, they could be summer league guys or maybe they showed something to one of the coaches that will get them drafted.

Comment from Big Dogg
Time June 12, 2008 at 2:24 PM

I want us to take Patrick Ewing Jr. in the 2nd round or bring him on for the summer league. I think he could beat out D-Mac for a roster spot.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 2:26 PM

Dozier is a very bouncy athlete — that’s *not* the same as an NBA player! He is almost certain to go back to school, and spend another year learning in an excellent system.

About Hibbert, the general thing you hear is “he didn’t improve his senior year.” I’m sure the observation has some cogency, but it’s also true that sometimes you have gone as far as you can go in a given environment and a given system.

Hibbert’s numbers are such that there is reason to think he’ll be a solid pro. To get a solid 7′2″ pro in the middle of the first round is pretty unusual, I think.

On the other hand, Marreese Speights is almost exactly the same size and weight as Al Horford, one year younger, and he comes out of the same school and system as Al. His productivity numbers last year, as a sophomore, were almost exactly the same as Horford’s as a junior; Al had a slight edge. But Horford’s numbers as a sophomore weren’t on a par w/ Speights’s soph numbers.

Numbers alone don’t make a basketball player. Is he as competitive as Al Horford, as disciplined, as smart, etc.? Who knows. But you can see why people could get excited about him.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 2:28 PM

I don’t think Ewing Jr. has *any chance* to beat out McGuire, but it’d still be great to have him in the summer league if he isn’t drafted. He’ll certainly play on someone’s summer league team.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 3:43 PM

Ewing, Jr. seems to be a terrific athlete, and he may turn into a hustle player in the NBA. I don’t really know his game, but what the Draft sites say about him is that he lacks a position in the NBA.

We won’t know until we know. But, if someone is not going to be drafted, how can you “steal” him in the 2d round?

Comment from Big Dogg
Time June 12, 2008 at 4:55 PM

Like i said before, i might be a little biased because i am a Hoya fan and i’ve seen all of his games and he has talent, plus he’s very familiar with our offense because he went to GTown who runs the princeton offense too. I feel what you’re sayin Tom but most of these so called experts have never picked up a ball in their life and they are usually wrong most of the time. It’s just that when i look at the 2nd round of mock drafts, they have players on there that i know Ewing is better than. I was comparing him to D-Mac because D-Mac is listed at 6′9 220 and Ewing is listed at 6′9 240. I guess i just want to see my Hoyas make it to the next level so i threw that idea of bring Ewing in out there. We’ll just have to see but he will surprise a lot of his doubters.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 12, 2008 at 5:42 PM

We got Dominic in the 2d round, but many analysts had him going between 20-25 of the first round. Statistically, he was among the very top forwards in that draft. His numbers compare well with the top forwards in the current draft.

It’d be great if DEjr flourished in the league, and we’ll have to see and have to hope. There is no reason to compare him to Dmac, however.

Comment from neal
Time June 12, 2008 at 9:33 PM

In my book kids get extra draft points for staying in school longer. Kwame Brown wasn’t ready and I don’t think Andray Blatche was either. I think experiencing the discipline of a good college program for 3 or 4 years, not to mention the discipline of studying, is good training.

Well, Mr. Arenas has opted out, says he wants “up to 120 million”. I’m more interested in his “at least” number before I advise Mr. Grunfeld what to do.

Last year I think there were only about 3 teams under the salary cap. Is anyone far enough under the cap at this point to afford Arenas? I presume that the answer is no, and that the Wiz don’t want him at the maximum (unless Ernie sees something I don’t). Then, he either resigns with the Wiz at a lower figure, or finds a team that wants him but doesn’t have salary cap space to sign him. Since he is OUR free agent, we can resign him up to the maximum w/o regard to the salary cap (Larry Bird exception). Under a special “sign and trade” provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement we could do that with a previously reached agreement to trade him to another team for players with comparable salary. Surely, at that price we ought to get a player or players that would contribute a lot.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 13, 2008 at 6:07 AM

neal — a team can’t sign a fa and exceed the cap? I.e. there is a provision barring this? Can you explain the rule – and perhaps provide a link. I know that I should already grok all this…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 13, 2008 at 6:41 AM

I guess it wouldn’t be a “cap” if one needed to pay it no mind….

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 13, 2008 at 9:04 AM

SportzWiz — No workouts today? I sure wish we would bring in Roy Hibbert. If we let him display his talent to other teams he may not be there at 18.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 13, 2008 at 9:13 AM

You might have heard about this major blackout going on in downtown DC. Currently the phone booth has only backup generator power, so I have yet to hear if workouts are a go or are not. However, the last workout list I saw for today did NOT have Roy Hibbert on it.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time June 13, 2008 at 9:56 AM

at this moment im not really concerned about the draft……what im more concerned about is obviously resigning arenas and jamison!!! i just dont see how the wizards are gonna be able to afford 2 keep both players because they both are gonna ask for alot of money……and i think grunfield would be out of his mind 2 only sign 1 player and let the other go…..especially try and sign arenas without jamison because arenas said hes gone if jamison isnt coming back 2 dc……..i think the wizards front office should not really look 2 draft a player in the first round this year; instead trade that pick away on or before draft night with songaila, pech, d mac, or a combo of them, for a player that is not young and raw but not 2 old either….someone that can contribute that we can afford 2 have on the team

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:10 AM

WIzfan4life the contracts will have to match if thats the case. And so everyone knows. The power is back on and workouts will continue today. Post coming soon

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:24 AM

About a month ago, there seems to be a prevailing theory that the Wizards are going to bypass the draft (i.e., trade the picks) and focus strictly on keeping the current team intact. However, the attitude appears to have changed as the team went through tryouts for potential candidates via invitation-only workouts. Like SportzWiz said, the Wizards wouldn’t waste anyone’s time and target people they have no interest or wouldn’t be available around the 18th and 47th spots.

I interpreted all these activities as a “farewell to Roger Mason”. Management knows that money is going to be scarce after Arenas gets his and Jamison gets his. In order to have more than 9 healthy players at any given time, the cheapest way for the Wizards to reload the team is through the draft. Rookie salaries at the 18th and 47th pick levels are cheaper to keep than a 3 year, 11 million dollar contract (for example).

Comment from SportzWiz
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:31 AM

I could easily see the Wizards going a lot of different ways in the draft. They have four young players that they are already developing so they could easily trade one or both picks. At the same time as wiz-fusion said rookies make for cheap players so that’s a positive to drafting players.

Wizfan As far as twan and gil are concerned i think everyone’s focus is on that, but considering nothing can start happening for another month the draft is really the current topic to speculate on.

Comment from neal
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:32 AM

There are 10 exceptions to the salary cap:
1. Larry Bird – for your own FA having 3 years of experience
2. Early Bird – for your own FA having 2 years of experience
3. Non-Bird – for your own FA not meeting Bird requirements
4. Mid-Level Salary – for one FA at salary not to exceed average for league
5. Bi-Annual – usable once in 2 years for FA at specified am’t ($1.9M this yr)
6. Rookie – any team may sign its 1st round pick even if over the cap
7. Minimum salary – any team may sign any FA at the league minimum
8. Traded Player – allows teams to be over cap for up to a year in completing a trade
9. Disabled Player – a team may replace a player who will be out for the entire year
10. Reinstatement – to reinstate a player previously banned for drug usage

Tom, type NBA Salary Cap FAQ into your browser.

Comment from dmac
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:43 AM

wizards_fusion or Tom do you know how many of the Wiz have guranteed contracts thru next season?

Comment from dmac
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:54 AM

what you guy’s think about Wilbon’s article in the post today about whether the wiz should keep gil?

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 13, 2008 at 11:02 AM

wilbon said exactly what i have been saying. its not about making the playoffs, its about winning the trophy. i say we trade him for more help. we can get 2 key players for the price of one injury stricken arenas whom may not ever be 100 percent again. and if im ernie im not sure i would take that risk. many say if aint broke dont try to fix it….. it aint broke but it aint working either. some say change is good….. that is what im going with. we stole him from the warriors, we brought the best years out of him, but he may being going ken griffey or grant hill on us

Comment from neal
Time June 13, 2008 at 11:20 AM

I liked Wilbon’s article. Good info on who might be interested in Gil. Golden State? For Elton Brand?

The Collective Bargaining Agreement makes it almost impossible to sign someone else’s star w/o trading for him. I’m sure that’s to keep the best players from congregating on 2-3 top teams.

All our 13 players from last year have guaranteed contracts for next year except Arenas, Jamison, Mason and McGuire.

Comment from dmac
Time June 13, 2008 at 12:28 PM

I certainly believe if we could get Baron and Andre in a trade for Gil and AB that would be awesome. Baron is a very smart player and I believe EJ could use Baron in the Princeton O to his strengths. If we could somehow keep AJ that would be sweet.
BD, CB and AJ and Bierdrins as the enforcer. The reason why I like this deal is I feel it would improve our team to make a run in the playoffs next year.

Comment from neal
Time June 13, 2008 at 1:19 PM

I agree dmac. Did you mean Andris instead of Andre?

Then we would need a scoring SG who could get his own shot. Would be a boost to Nick Young’s career.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time June 13, 2008 at 1:54 PM

I didn’t like Wilbon’s article at all. The primary reason is because all the player trade scenarios pitted the Wizards losing a 26 yr old PG for players that are already at or ending their prime:

Brand – 29 yrs old
Davis – 29 yrs old
Marion – 30 yrs old

The funny thing is that all these players, including Arenas, has had injury issues and are very questionnable long term. It’s like trading damaged goods for other damaged goods.

BD and Gil are pretty much the same player. BD’s stronger and his body size is rounder and he’s got better court vision. Gil’s a better shooter and hopefully still quick if he’s in game shape and his knees don’t swell up. Both are clutch players and want the ball in the end. I have to still choose Arenas because he’s younger.

Even if the Wizards don’t get to the Finals with these cats, there will be other cats in the future to get the team there. It’ll be cool to see this group get far because the talent is certainly there. If not – well, that’s life.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 13, 2008 at 1:57 PM

i dont think tha 2 spot is a weakness for us. not because i like stevenson but because he get what we need out of deshawn at the two. defense and 3 point shooting. now having some dribble skills would be better, but tha man can do that, look up some magic highlights. beidrins will not be a big pick up. unlike eddie did in tha playoffs teams will not be shy to foul him. he is a terrible free throw shooter. he has no offensive skills. just strickly defense and rebounding. and getting him will eliminate hibbert also. baron will be a boosts for us though. the best duo we can get would be brand and maggette. or maybe josh smith and childress, or rasheed n billups. our biggest weakness at the moment is a back up for sf, center and power foward

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 13, 2008 at 1:59 PM

i also like marion for his versatility

Comment from neal
Time June 13, 2008 at 10:39 PM

I think we’re in pretty good shape at C and PF.

At C we have Haywood, who’s at least an average NBA center, backed up by Thomas, who’s almost as good. Presuming Thomas spends part of every year hurt, Songaila and Blatche are good 3rd options, depending on the match-ups.

PF is our deepest position, with Jamison (presumably), Songaila, Blatche and Pecherov.

Of course, if we get a chance to trade for an established star at either of these positions, that’s different, but I definitely don’t think we should feel we have a “need” there.

Actually, everything depends on Arenas. Without him, we HAVE TO to have another PG, and one that can join the rotation immediately, in my opinion. With him, we can take the best player available, but be particularly interested in the SF’s.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 14, 2008 at 7:43 AM

neal — Would you be interested in Brandon Rush. I really seem t like theat guy, he can come in a contribute fromthe start. For some reason Tom doesnt seem to like him though. I’ve been saying thins the whole time. We need a PG, PG, and a PG. Now if someone like Brandon Rush or Roy HIbbert falls to us. THen no doubt pick up the guy. 18 is to high i personally believe to take Ty Lawosn or Mario Chalmers. It wold be great to get Lawson. Yeah he’s not a great defender, but he tries to defend atleast. We could get AD to mentor him. These guys seem to be the same. True-Point Gaurd. Great Court Vision. Good ASST-TO Ratio. I jus tthink that Ty Lawson could end up being better than AD.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 14, 2008 at 7:45 AM

No one seemes to be interested in the guys who worked out. That threads at a record low in comments. SportzWiz is probably sad. He probably went out for a wiskey or two, and a couple of shots like Kobe did. LOL

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 9:03 AM

Hi guys — I’m on the road and just checking in. I haven’t read Wilbon’s article, but I will and will weigh in w/ an opinion.

I certainly hope we *don’t* trade away our draft, although, I’d be happy to have a couple of high 2d round picks instead of our current picks — if we were able to get Joey Dorsey or Richard Hendrix along w/ e.g. Mario Chalmers.

I don’t think we’re set at the 4, neal — we may well lose Antawn (he may want to finish out his career in Charlotte, and they definitely seem to want him). And I sure don’t think Andray has proven himself yet — as a player or a person. If Speights is available, he looks like a very gifted player.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 9:51 AM

Lawson has *no shot* to be the player Antonio Daniels is. Zero. Still, I think he’ll have a nice nba career. That said, I like Chalmers better than him.

To me, if Speights and/or Hibbert are available at 18, you have to take one of them. Perhaps Batum should be on the same list: decide among the 3 of them. There is at least some chance that one or more of these guys will be productive nba starters. It’s a deep draft that gives you this good a player at 18, especially big guys.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 10:02 AM

Assuming we do keep our choices, it’s a good question what to do at 47 in the 2d round.

Are we looking for a backup PG? George Hill or Lester Hudson or maybe even Beaubois would be good guys to take a chance on.

Are we looking for a wing player? There’ll be a plethora of them: Kyle Weaver, Pat Calathes, JR Giddens, Shan Foster, and more will be available. I *really* like Calathes, and Foster grades out very well too.

Are we looking for another big guy? I don’t see anyone falling to 47 among the prospects I know about. Maybe we’d have to move up in round 2 — if so, then Hendrix, Dorsey, Thompson and Anderson are in play. Could we use our Memphis rights to move up near the top of round 2? I don’t know.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 10:10 AM

We seem to be mixing in talk about our FAs and about trades. Here’s my take:

1. I wouldn’t give Gilbert a max deal. Lets see who pursues him, and we’ll re-sign him if possible. I’d pay a little more than what he’d have gotten had he not opted out.

2. Antawn is a must: he had a *great* season, so he will be looking for a deal that is reasonably close to his current salary.

3. To me, the Blatche experiment is over. Unfortunately, he hurt his trade value w/ his umpteenth off-season adventure, but I’d still be looking to see who needs a guy with his “potential” and can afford to take the risk at his relatively low salary.

4. Roger — here’s how I think about him. I think that because of Gilbert’s injury and Nick being a rookie, Roger had what will turn out to have been his best season at just the right time. I doubt he’ll ever play as many minutes again. If he doesn’t get an outlandish offer from someone else, then he’s worth re-signing. But, I wouldn’t go overboard. He is not a hard player to replace.

Comment from neal
Time June 14, 2008 at 11:45 AM

Wizskins07, I’m flattered that you asked my opinion but I don’t follow the college game and will have to defer to you guys who know more.

Tom, I agree that Blatche hasn’t proven himself, but at what he’s making I don’t think we could get value equal to Blatche’s potential, even considering that he’s going to have to get a lot more serious.

Even if we lose Arenas and Jamison we will get good veterans in trades. We aren’t so much in need of quantity as a kid who has the potential to be a star. For that reason I’m not enthusiastic about trading our picks for two high second rounders. We made a good pick with our second rounder last year and he still could barely get on the floor.

At this point in our team’s development I’d trade four journeymen for one all-star.

Jamison says he’s looking for about $10M. Can’t see why we wouldn’t reach an agreement with him unless some other team is enamored with him and has a top-flight younger player they’re willing to trade.

Tom, we again disagree about Mason. I think he just got his opportunity and confidence. He got better as the year went on. I’ll bet you a Starbucks next year will be his best.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 1:14 PM

I’ll take the Mason bet — but, we have to use the Win Score methodology as the measure, ok? Note, that I would *love* for Roger to continue to improve.

Jamison at $10m? Yes, that is a deal that is right for the Wizards. But, where did he indicate that number?

The draft is not about “quantity” for me, neal. It’s about building for the future. It’s not even that important whether these players can earn minutes in their first year. The thing is, they don’t significantly impact the salary picture, and they do (or you want them to) develop into excellent assets either to play or trade.

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 14, 2008 at 1:40 PM

the draft is a way to develop talent, the top players are those who can right away come in a help. personally i like dominic better than blatche. we have 3 prospects dominic, blatche and pech, i would add young to that but he is more talented offensively. we have too many prospects and not enough proven help. we have 4 power fowards. but personally i think we have one. songaila cant rebound and defend. blatche does not do one thing in particular very well. pech needs work. if we dont sign jamison or get brand….. we will be very weak at tha 4. I’d rather put up with haywood and the wounded etan than just have blatche, darius and pech at the 4 n e day. we were doing ok without arenas so i think the jamison issue is more of a concern. after that i would worry about arenas. as far as the draft some go for best available. i would go for most need or most useful. lets be honest the only reason u guys are concerned about the 3 spot backup is to defend lebron. now if caron gets hurt then i would be concerned. bringing in a star 3 at the 3 will just lead to problems come contract time for caron. personally i look at draft picks as potential replacements or filler ups (as far as needs). on queen james …. we should just take a page out of the celtics book and play better team defense. i say draft a center and sf in tha second round

Comment from gee wiz
Time June 14, 2008 at 1:46 PM

if u dont want a sf in tha draft we can go after peitrius of golden state as a free agent. he is a good defender with a decent 3 point shot. or sign jamison and go after shawn marion. and draft a point gaurd along side hibbert. whatever just suggestions. im not sure how much money is available, but its going to be difficult because the draft is before free agency so that sucks as far knowing whether to draft to replace gil, or jamison, or to draft for needs

Comment from neal
Time June 14, 2008 at 1:58 PM

OK, Tom, we’ll use your methodology. If I can have my pick of Starbucks coffees.

A Post reported said that that was what Jamison said he wanted.

Gee wiz, I’m more positive on our PF’s. I think Songaila is an average defender. He’s almost never out of position, but fouls a lot. And I think he’s an average rebounder for the minutes he plays. And I think Blatche is above average offensively. Except for the games where he’s not. We haven’t seen much of Pecherov. About all we know is that (1) when he gets the ball he’s looking to shoot, and (2) the coaches are playing Jamison, Songaila and Blatche ahead of him.

I don’t see an outstanding weakness at any position. We just need to play team ball and get one more all-star caliber player.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 14, 2008 at 2:19 PM

Tom — If you really look at it AD was a BUST. Yeah i said it a BUST. When he was drafted he was supposed to be the next great thing to happen to the leauge he was highly touted. He did turn out to be very solid however. But i wasnt what people expected of hime when he was drafted. If I would draft a PG in the Top 5 i would expect the guy to be a John Stockton or a Chris Paul.

Comment from wiz-skins07
Time June 14, 2008 at 2:24 PM

Jamison — 10 mil ONLY. Are you serious that’s a bargain. How many years does he want. But 10 mil is almost a good a bargain as Butler at 8 or 9 mil. Hopefully, just hopefully we can get Gilbert at a bargain. Althought its a major risk we are taking. He may end up being the next Juwan Howard. C’mon guys are we gonna give a guy max to ride the pine with all the knee problems he’s having?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 7:03 PM

neal – you have a deal. Whoever wins, we’ll have the coffee at the chinatown starbucks and maybe sportswiz will join us (and maybe Gil will drop in too)

wizskins — there’s a chris paul or john stockton once in 10 years at the most. Anyway, how does it matter? Antonio is one of the best players in the league at his position, and he is also one of the most underrated players in the league.

He is also going to make a tremendous coach one day — if he doesn’t make a fortune as a businessman or media guy instead. He is a very astute guy.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time June 14, 2008 at 7:06 PM

DraftExpress has posted an analysis of this year’s shooting guards in the draft. Particularly interesting for thinking about guys who’ll be available in the second round. JR Giddens measures very well, as does Shan Foster. Kyle Weaver looks good too — but not as strong.

Take a look in particular at the Win Score ranking. I might add that Mayo and Gordon, both projected in the lottery, kind of look like they might be busts. It’ll be a good test of the numbers to see how they do next year.

Comment from wiz2finals2009
Time June 16, 2008 at 1:24 PM

We should be focusing on the 4 spot, since there is a chance that we won’t resign Jamison, or sign and trade him. Bambale Osby has so much potential. Look at him, the dude is huge!! With a little work on his rebounding he’ll be exactly what we need at the 4 spot. Pecherov… we don’t need him. Honestly that guy gets the ball and thinks “shoot” no matter where he is. Songaila needs some defensive work to avoid fouling so much, but at this stage in his career I can’t see him improving too much. We should package Blatche and/or Songaila with Arenas and see if we can get an all star Small Forward, and then move CB3 to the 2 spot.